Pocket Cam Review: Toshiba Camileo S20

I can remember my father carrying around a massive camcorder on his shoulder during birthdays and family gatherings when I was a toddler. It's pretty amazing to see how camcorders have evolved in such a short period of time and Toshiba's continues the trend with its latest pocket-sized camcorder the Camileo S20.

When I first pulled the Camileo S20 out of the box I was impressed with just how light and slim it was at just ¼ lb and less than ¾ inches thick. I couldn't resist trying to see if it would fit into every one of my pockets; it made it into all of them except that tiny little pocket that's inside of your right-side jeans pocket.

Now for the nitty-gritty: The device features a 1080p full HD resolution video, 4x digital zoom (when recording in 720p, 1x digital zoom in 1080p), a 3" LCD, video stabilization, and is YouTube ready. Included with the Camileo S20 are a charger; video, USB and HDMI cables; a mini tripod; a pouch; and cleaning cloth. Features like these can get pricey, but expect to pay $149.99 and get a Kingston 8GB SD memory card free when you purchase through Toshiba's website.

During the time we played with the device, we thought it was comparable to other pocket cams we've used in terms of video quality. The zoom isn't as smooth as we like it but is tolerable, and we found ourselves recording mostly in 720p rather than 1080p since zoom only works in 720p mode. Still, pictures were mostly clear and in focus. Some cool features of the device include a slow motion capture and a motion sensing setting. Overall, we enjoyed the pocket cam, and for the number of features included, the price is definitely right.